So - in looking back over some of last year's threads - I am reminded of H's concussion. And of how crabby and remote he was. It's helpful to look back at my posts because sometimes I start to think I'm imagining things. Was I just menopausal and touchy last year? Then I read back over my posts, and think "geez no, he was a bear!".
He seems better now - kinder to me, anyway. He actually initiated sex on Sunday - nice. He had a nice vacation, but seems edgy now that he is back to work. I don't know how to help him with this - he wanted to change jobs, he liked this work at first, then got disappointed in it, then decided things were getting better. He's on a trip to headquarters right now, though, and on the phone he just sounds tired and down.
I so want to "fix" things for him (I guess I'm like a guy that way) but I can't. So I try to keep from getting pulled under with him. I need to stay focused on my plans for increasing my income (in talks with a friend about sharing office space, that would allow me to open a practice of my own). Stay focused on getting back to 100% physically so I can shake this extra weight.
I love this man so much, he has no idea. At least, he has no idea when he's down. When he comes up for air he knows it.
Hi Ellie - It's sad when they do not seem to be able to remember important things. It's wonderful hat you are able to remain sane through the ups and downs, and I totally share your experience, even after we are apparently pieced, the roller coaster continues.
I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now - working one day a week. It would be great if I could just keep doing this for another year until the kids are done with high school. However the financial realities of my H taking this job at a lower pay, while my D is looking at a private college which costs beaucoup bucks, means I really need to ratchet up my earnings sooner than that.
Since the doc I'm working with now only has room for one person to work at a time, and he works 4 out of the five days, I really need to find another venue. Working with this girlfriend of mine from residency would be nearly ideal, but she is still looking at another offer that has come her way. If that doesn't work out, though, I will find a space or sublet to open my own practice.
I am enjoying what I am doing, which is not general family practice but involves seeing mostly hypothyroid patients and bioidentical hormone replacement patients. Since proper treatment of hypothyroidism is a passion of mine (after the struggles I and many family members have had with this) I am really enjoying this.
I hope within the year to have a practice up and running, working about 3/4 time, and making enough that if H goes off the deep end again, I will be able to support myself comfortably. I had always worked until I got sick, and I don't want to ever be in this position of financial dependence again. I still struggle with fatigue but am so much better than I was a year ago before I started this new regimen for my own thyroid.
Hi Ellie - I guess we are all coming to the same conclusion, that as good as the R might be after piecing, we just cannot take anything for granted.
Originally Posted By: kml
I hope within the year to have a practice up and running, working about 3/4 time, and making enough that if H goes off the deep end again, I will be able to support myself comfortably. I had always worked until I got sick, and I don't want to ever be in this position of financial dependence again.
Ditto. Somewhere along the way, I too lost my independence, and am slowly building it back again. And with it, dare I say, a great deal of confidence that whatever happens I will be OK. A far cry from the debilitating panic when the bomb first dropped
Boy, I've been lax about posting on my own thread!
Well, this week I will sign a lease for some office space!
My friend from residency, who has to move her practice, and I will share a space. It's just two doors down from where she was before, so she is familiar with the building and the landlord. We have a lOT of work to do before June 15. She was subletting space and staff before, so didn't have to deal with every aspect of running a practice, and I've never done it before, so the learning curve on the business stuff will be steep.
I did some shopping for waiting room furniture today.
It will be a challenge at first to get patients, but I have several ideas about how to go about it. If any of you have friends in the San Diego area who need help with their low thyroid or need bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, let me know!!!
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy means using the actual hormones your body makes to replace hormones lost through menopause or andropause. (Instead of horse estrogens and synthetic progestins that do not have the same chemical structures as the hormones our bodies make, like Premarin and Provera).
It's a little harder to do than writing a one-size-fits-all prescription for Premarin, but it does work well. Pharmaceutical firms do make a couple of oral bioidentical hormones, but most docs who do this work use compounding pharmacies to mix the hormones into creams which are applied in measured amounts to the skin (estrogens, progesterone, and sometimes testosterone).
It's not for everyone, it's more work for doctor and patient to get it right, but the results can be really good. Debates still rage about the safety of hormone therapy in general. Some practitioners who use bioidenticals make it sound as though they can never hurt you because they're natural to your body; that's not really true. ALL hormones of any type cause problems in excess - or in deficiency. It's important to work closely with a doctor to get the dosages right. Still, there are lots of reasons to suspect that many of the reported problems with Premarin and Provera will not be such an issue with bioidenticals.
Much of the bad press you may read about it is due to the pharmaceutical industry. See, you can't patent a compound that is naturally made in your body, so the pharmaceutical firms make money by patenting molecules that are similar - but structurally different - from your natural hormones. Now that Premarin and Provera prescriptions have fallen off drastically due to the WHI study, pharmaceutical firms are lobbying for restrictions on the compounding pharmacies that are suddenly their competition.
Slowly
